So you have a website but it isn’t delivering the traffic and potential audience or customer base you would like?
A lot of people are under the misconception that if you have a website people will find it. These days, you have to really work at getting your target audience to look at your website. There are billions of web pages out there and each website has a very large amount of competition. You may have a brand new, up-to-date website that looks and functions great but please don’t think the work is done and you’ll be fighting off customers or getting bogged down with web traffic. Your work has just begun.
Marketing your website
It has been said you need to spend 50% of your time just marketing your business to reach your full potential share of customers/audience. You need to be marketing just to stand still. So if you haven’t been doing any regular marketing, you need to start some action:
8 things you should be doing that will help (but only if you are dedicated about it):
1. Have a blog on your website – this is a MUST these days. It creates an easy way to inform and engage your audience with NEW content thereby wanting them to return to see future news and even share it with friends. Having new content on your website also gets noticed by search engines like Google. If you create engaging new content on a regular basis, Google will take note and it will have a positive effect on your web ranking. See here for more tips on blogs: Benefits of Blogging for Business | How to write a successful Blog for your business
2. Get Social – make sure your website has the facilities in place to share your webpages through social media. Search engines like Google will think of ‘social sharing’ a more authentic type of recommendations. If you care to share it with your friends it must be engaging in some way and therefore it will help to improve your ranking. Having Share and Like buttons is another MUST for websites these days. You should also have your own social pages set up, for example on Facebook or Twitter. This can then show posts that link back to your website, creating a new marketing avenue. See more info: Social Media to Market your business
3. Responsive website – If your website is out of date it might be losing business and traffic. All websites should be responsive these days – which means it adapts to different screen sizes and devices. A website that fits a normal desktop screen obviously isn’t going to work on a smartphone very well, so it has to adapt. Getting an App made for smartphones is also a good option.
4. Improve content – Make sure you have clear and engaging content. Think about what your target audience would be looking for – you can even ask them what they would like to see on your website. Keep all written content fresh and up to date and also be mindful of your Search Engine Optimisation – adding the correct keywords within your content. See more here: Search Engine Strategies
5. Analyse your website’s performance – Use a web statistical tracking app like Google Analytics to understand how well your website is working. You will be able to see what pages are doing well and other areas of your site that need improvement. It will also show you a range of other vital data such as demographics, user devices, engagement time and much more.
6. Know your competition – Who are your main competitors? It doesn’t matter what your website or business is about, you will have a lot of competition. You need to analyse all of your major competition, see who’s doing best in your market and just exactly what they are doing. That way you can see what they are offering your potential audience and come up with your own counter-plan. Without knowing what your competition are doing, you are going into the market blind. Competitor analysis is essential for all regular marketing plans.
7. Advertise – There is nothing wrong with advertising, though you really should have all of the above firmly in place first. Pay Per Click web advertising such as Google Adwords is a good way of reaching more of your audience. Though you really must have it set up correctly otherwise you will be wasting your time and money.
8. Create special offers or competitions – people like a good deal or to win things. Thinking of creative ways to entice them to your business such as special offers or a competition is perfect. And any financial outlay you have used for the special offers or prizes will come back to you with new customers if you do it right. Not only that, you create new awareness for your brand.
As well as the above, you need to make sure your SEO is working. This is crucial for any business website and you may want to consider other areas of search engine marketing (SEM). Click here to see more about SEO and SEM. Or for more information or help on any of the above topics, contact us for a friendly chat.
